Tuesday, May 09, 2006

In light of the Tribe dropping Game 1 to the lowly Royals (ugh) and with a trip to Niagra Falls over the weekend, which included a drive-by of Dunn Tire Park in Buffalo (where the Bisons are really struggling), let’s take a look at some players of interest on the Farm (high levels only – I only have so much time):

Here are the principals playing for the aforementioned struggling Buffalo squad:Player – BA – HR – RBI – OPSJason Dubois – .308 - 6 – 23 - .931Ryan Garko - .262 – 3 – 24 - .792Ben Francisco - .267 – 5 – 15 - .778Franklin Gutierrez - .266 – 2 – 10 - .740Andy Marte - .255 – 0 – 5 - .692Dubois continues to tear up AAA pitching (he hit 31 HR in 109 games in the AAA Cubs’ organization in 2004), but the whiff is still there as he’s gone down on strikes 32 times in 101 AB’s. Marte’s numbers are a concern, as he’s not hitting for much power (although he does have 9 doubles). With the way the Tribe is hitting, none of these players is going to be called upon any time soon, injuries notwithstanding. The whole Bisons team is reeling, as they’re 3-7 in the last 10; so, it looks like all of the Tribe AAA positional prospects have hit a cold streak together.

As for the pitchers in Western NY:Pitcher – Won/Loss – ERA – WHIP – K/BBJeremy Sowers – 4/1 – 1.40 – 1.27 – 26/14Steve Karsay – 1/1 – 1.93 – 0.71 – 11/1Andrew Brown – 2/0 – 2.41 – 1.45 – 15/17Brian Slocum – 0/0 – 1.35 – 0.68 – 14/3Sowers is the only starter really rolling as Carmona has struggled since his return and Jake Dittler, Jason Stanford, and Dan Denham have struggled. The bullpen has remained solid, though, with Steve Karsay pitching well in particular. One has to think that the Front Office is watching Karsay pretty closely as he’s probably going to be the next one called up in case of another bullpen injury. Brown and Slocum will probably both stay in Buffalo most of the season and will likely help the Tribe once the rosters are expanded (along with Rob Bell, Hyang-Nam Choi, and Ben Howard).

Down 77, here’s a few of the Aeros’ hitters:Player – BA – HR – RBI – OPSJoe Inglett - .500 – 1 – 2 – 1.258Kevin Kouzmanoff - .417 – 1 – 11 – .985Jonathon Van Every (OF) - .304 – 4 – 18 – .956Ryan Mulhern - .298 – 5 – 22 - .841Brad Snyder - .250 – 4 – 18 - .730Interestingly, Joe Inglett was demoted from Buffalo (where he was hitting .321 with a .816 OPS) to get some reps in at SS, the only position he isn’t tremendously defensive proficient at. Now why would that be? Could it be that Ramon Vazquez simply can’t hit? Or because an Assistant GM could take the quick trip to Akron to see Inglett at SS to assist in a decision? Inglett may get the call to the Jake this year to replace Vazquez, if he doesn’t start hitting, or they may be grooming him to be the Utility IF (or, dare I say it, 2B) in 2007.

And the Akron arms:Pitcher – Won/Loss – ERA – WHIP – K/BBAdam Miller – 4/1 – 2.76 – 0.98 – 31/6Tony Sipp – 2/0 – 2.14 – 1.00 – 31/6Sean Smith – 2/0 – 3.18 – 1.29 – 15/10Nick Pesco – 2/1 – 4.82 – 1.43 – 24/13Bear Bay – 2/3 – 3.77 – 1.52 – 28/11Edward Mujica – 7 saves – 0.00 – 1.14 – 15/9Look at those numbers for Adam Miller, he’s reestablished himself a bona-fide stud prospect in a short time. Smith is a 22 year old who has already earned a promotion from Kinston and could be a name to watch. Speaking of names to watch, Mujica has yet to give up a run in 16 2/3 innings. Remember that the White Sox relied on a flamethrower from AA to give them solid innings down the stretch. I’m not saying that Mujica is Bobby Jenks, I’m just saying that Mujica could certainly find his way to Cleveland at some point this year.

If the Tribe goes down again (and with Johnson on the mound it’s a disticnct possibility), get ready for me to unload some things off my chest that have been stewing for a while. And I mean unload.

Of course, that now being said, the Tribe will probably rattle off some W’s. They better.